You think it’s hard to stay in shape at home? Try doing it while on the road.

Take Advantage of The Free Fitness Facilities

Most hotels of fitness facilities for free. Some are definitely better than others. Some have pools, every kind of machine you can think of, treadmill, elliptical cycles, speed bikes, fitness mat and more. Some just have a bench and some free weights. Some of them are placed on gorgeous oceanfront or river front properties overlooking historical buildings and skylines, and others are in the basement of the hotel.

Let me tell you something. It doesn’t matter what the fitness facilities looks like or has on hand. All you really need at it’s most basic is a bench and some weights.

Set Your Expectations Low

You probably think I’m crazy but this works. I know from experience. While on business I find it is easier for me to set my expectations low! What I do is a say to myself “ok bud all you need to do is 20 minutes of cardio, or 30 minutes of free weights.” This is totally doable, and doesn’t seem as crazy and ridiculous as planning for a one to two hour workout.

However that said, nearly every time, I start enjoying it, and almost always end up pushing out a 45 minute weight lifting session, and 30 minutes of cardio.

Pop In a Workout DVD

Sometimes you just don’t feel like going to the hotel gym or fitness facilities. That’s totally fine. If you are just getting started, you may feel more comfortable working out alone. I know I did for the first few months.

My secret weapon was Beachbody. I have a couple of the programs on DVD, so I simply brought along a few in my suite case. Not a big deal at all, and you don’t need anything other than your own body, and don’t even need to bring running shoes.

In the mornings I’d just wake up a little earlier, and pop in the DVD. My favorite was always the Turbofire HIIT workouts. The 15 minute or the 20 minute ones rock. They burn about 300 calories if you do them full of energy, and then burn another 800 or so calories all day long. Do the math people. You don’t think this is possible? That’s how I lost 45 pounds in 3 months folks. And I should be clear here, I didn’t just lose 45 pounds. I gained a significant amount of muscle, so the fat loss was more than 45 pounds.

Seriously, if you are reading this and overweight and think you can’t do it. I beg you, buy the Chalene Johnson TurboFire program right now. Don’t even think about it. You will lose weight and you will become a new person in less than 90 days.

Go For A Run

Want to know the best way to get to know a city? Go for a run. I was totally missing out when I was traveling going to all these different places. Since starting to run, I’ve seen the beauty of Central Park, the incredible views in Seattle, and some breathtaking views along the Chicago River and the harbor.

Going for a run is a complete workout. It get’s your arms moving, your abs working hard, back muscles, your legs rocking, and your ass gets tighter. What else do you want? This is basically available to anywhere you go, and all you need is some runners.

Eat Healthy While Travelling

This can be a challenge when travelling, so try and keep this one simple and don’t get discouraged if you cheat. Depending on how much you travel, your goal should be to sustain the weight you have, and not gain weight. The secondary goal should be to drop weight if you can be a little more diligent about what you eat. I was able to lose a significant portion of my weight while keeping up a busy travel schedule by eating healthy foods, and enjoying the occasional treats that some cities have to offer.

Your best friend when eating healthy is going to be MyFitnessPal. If you have an iPad or iPhone, download this free app right now. Try and make sure you eat healthy meals most of the day, and leave one meal for cheating if you have to. So for me, on a cheating day, I would eat a healthy breakfast that is low in calories and carbs, but higher in protein. I’d eat granola bars, almonds, bananas to keep me full until lunch.

At lunch I would either have a meal replacement shake, a protein shake, or maybe a salad. I might even add a slice of pizza to the salad if I’m in New York or Chicago where the pizza is incredible. It does you no good to crave something and “punish” yourself by not having it. It has been proven that his actually creates acid in your stomach and can actually cause you to gain more weight.

During dinner it’s a cheat day, I will eat whatever I want, but just watch the amount that I eat. That’s right, order whatever you want, just don’t eat all if it if you don’t need it all. Have a drink if you must as well.

If you follow a day like this, you should be in at around 1,500 calories, which for most people is less than they burn in a day. If you ate a little more than you should, you should still be at around 1,800 calories. Most people need about 2,000 calories a day to stay the same weight. If you add in the workout, you can subtract 300 to 1,000 calories if you did a TurboFire workout. Do the math folks. This formula works. You will lose weight.

Bring Vitamins and Shakes

The other massive secret to losing weight is to use the right supplements, shakes, and give your body a chance to naturally lose weight. See people don’t realize that weight loss is impossible and harder if you are eating like crap. Seriously. If you drink soda, coffee, beer, and eat white bread, a ton of carbs, and more, you are actually doing some incredible damage to your body. Forget calories, for a second. Imagine if you just ate bread and butter, and then drank coke, but kept your calories down to 1,500 calories. You think you would lose weight easily and gain any kind of muscle? Of course not! In fact you would likely get sick very often, sore from workouts, and your body would start to save up any fat it can store trying to save itself from the death you are trying to bring it.

Not only that, but after a great workout, you need to replenish your body with water, and the proper nutritional elements so that it can repair damaged tissues and purify your body.

In essence when you workout, you are actually eliminating garbage from your body, and also tearing up muscles so that they can rebuild stronger. You need to put in some good stuff to replace the bad stuff! There are many great products out there that can deliver the ultimate health benefits to your body, but the best one hands down is the Beachbody Shakeology drink. You don’t believe me? You think I could have lost 45 pounds without it? I looked forward to those shakes every day! They taste amazing, and they give your body some amazing combinations of natural vitamins that you need to succeed.

Final Thoughts on Weight Loss While Traveling

It’s not easy to lose weight. I know, I tried for years and failed. However, if you set yourself up for success, you can’t fail. Buy the TurboFire workout, It’s cheaper than a night out for dinner and wine, but it will change your life. Buy the Shakeology drinks to give your body some amazing capabilities to repair itself from the damage you have done to yourself.

When you invest in your body, and make it easy to workout, you can’t fail.

Running In The Cold

1. Get Motivated to run in the cold!
   Listen I don't care who you are, if you don't get yourself into the zone to run in the cold when the wind is blowing, and the sleet if falling, you will not step out that door! Put on some awesome tunes, tell yourself you will enjoy a nice shake when you get back, do something! For me it is the music, and the shakeology bonus drink. I basically make it a rule that I can't have the shake, if I don't put in the effort to run.
2. Dress properly for a cold run depending on temperature.
   Right now it is only  about 0 degrees to -5 degrees celsius in Winnipeg, so I've been able to get away with two tops, one pair of windbreaker pants, and light finger gloves. I also make sure my second layer has a hoody so I can put it up or down as needed, and I wear my Shure headphones which serve as earmuffs. Once it gets colder, to the -10 range, I will add some runners tights, and the pants on top of those. I will also add a neck warmer that I can move over my mouth and nose to warm up the air even further before it hits my lungs. Once we are in the -20 degree temperature range you will want add a third layer to your top, and have to nice warm layers for your legs. Shoes will also become more important here if you have snow on the ground and are worried about slipping. More on that in another article.
3. Warm-Up Before Running
   Don't just head outside cold! You will be freezing for half your run, and you will likely pull a muscle or cause other injuries. You should be warming up anyway, but it is more important than ever to do it in the cold. Make sure you do dynamicstretching as this is the most effective way to avoid injury, warm up the muscles, and get your blood flowing and body temperature ready for the cold.
4. Start running into the wind
   I messed this one up the other day. When you know there is a wind, it is imperative that you start your run into the wind, and end with it at your back. This will give you less time with the wind blowing at you once you are sweating.
5. Avoid the wind
   Ok this one kind of goes with number four, but if you can, try and avoid the wind all together. If you can't, try and find a run that has enough obstacles to block the wind as much as possible. Wind can take the sales out of any great run by blasting you in the face harder than you can handle. If it is moist outside, and you add wind, you will have some serious factors to deal with.
6. Forget Breaking Speed Records
   In the cold, all you want to do is keep your endurance up, and improve it if you can. You don't want to be running so hard you slip on snow, or ice, and injure yourself for a few months of sitting on the coach.
7. Raining Out? No Problem
   Just because it's raining doesn't mean you can't run. Simply slip on some socks, pur your feet into some little plastic bags, and slip on your shoes! The plastic will protect you socks from getting wet. Once you get back ,your shoes will be wet, so make sure you take them off quickly, stuff them tight with newspapers to soak up the moisture overnight, and put them close to the heat (but not directly on it). See, nothing can stop us from running in the cold or rain!
8. Change Quickly!
   Get out of that wet, damp clothes as fast as possible and jump into a warm shower (but not too warm). If you don't do this and take your time to get your clothes off, you are going to start to feel really bad when it all dries up.
9. Drink a Warm Drink Post run
   If you are really cold make sure you warm yourself up with a healthy drink. There are many great teas you could be drinking. I personally prefer a nice warm peppermint tea after a run, which helps with stomach digestion. Green teas and yellow teas are also fantastic for helping you shed a few extra pounds as well.
10. Remind Yourself It Felt Great
    Ok so you finished your cold run, did you die? No, you felt great! Remind yourself of the feeling you got when you where one of the few that decided they would give it everything you had even though it was freezing outside. The next time you are unmotivated at the sight of a 6 foot snow bank, just remember how great you felt after you completed the last run!

I hope these tips help you on your quest to conquer the cold runs! If this works for a guy who runs in Winnipeg, they will work for you! Put on those runners and pound out a 5km run right now!